Sensors are used for monitoring and/or recording of various human physical, chemical and/or physiological parameters. For example, a sensor can be included with a medical device such as a pacemaker, and can be permanently implanted in a specific location within the human body. This sensor is used to monitor, and sometimes chronically monitor, certain physical and/or physiological parameters of the subject in which it has been implanted.
While it is helpful to gain information chronically from a sensor implanted within a patient, one limitation is the susceptibility of the sensor to conditions and risks associated with implanting a device within the body. For example, some sensors have fragile components that are sensitive to pressure. As a result, there is a risk that the sensor will be damaged during insertion, deployment and/or positioning of the implantable device. Damage to the sensor could result in poor performance or non-operability of the sensor.
Another concern with including sensors on implantable devices is the erosion of material when it is implanted in a patient and exposed for a prolonged period of time to bodily fluids and other naturally occurring agents inside the patient. Yet another concern with sensors is the build-up of fibrotic growth on the sensor during the prolonged period of exposure to bodily fluids. The fibrotic growth on the sensor can lead to dampening of an implantable sensor response or reduction in signal strength, potentially affecting the sensor's ability to monitor.
What is therefore needed is an implantable sensor that overcomes the issues related to fibrotic growth on or affecting the sensor.